Mount Akhun in Sochi - chained Prometheus and an observation tower. Stories and legends

In the other hemisphere, people living in Western Australia in places with a high concentration of uranium, radiation doses are 75 times higher than the average level, since they eat the meat and offal of sheep and kangaroos.
Lead-210 and polonium-210 are concentrated in fish and shellfish. People who consume a lot of seafood can receive relatively high doses of radiation.
However, a person does not need to eat venison, kangaroo meat, or shellfish to become radioactive. The "average" person receives the main dose of internal irradiation due to radioactive potassium-40. This nuclide has a very long half-life (1.28 · 10 9 years) and has been preserved on Earth since the time of its formation (nucleosynthesis). In a natural mixture of potassium 0.0117% potassium-40. The human body weighing 70 kg contains approximately 140 g of potassium and, accordingly, 0.0164 g of potassium-40. This is 2.47 · 10 20 atoms, of which about 4000 disintegrates every second, that is, the specific activity of our body for potassium-40 is ~ 60 Bq / kg. The dose that a person receives from potassium-40 is about 200 μSv / year, which is about 8% of the annual dose.
The contribution of cosmogenic isotopes (mainly carbon-14), i.e. isotopes, which are constantly formed under the action of cosmic radiation, are small, less than 1% of the natural background radiation.

The greatest contribution (40-50% of the total exposure to the annual human dose) is made by radon and its decay products. () When it enters the body during inhalation, it causes irradiation of the mucous tissues of the lungs. Radon is released from the earth's crust everywhere, but its concentration in the outside air differs significantly for different parts of the globe.
Radon is constantly formed in the depths of the Earth, accumulates in rocks, and then gradually moves along cracks to the Earth's surface.
Natural radioactivity of the air is mainly due to the release from the soil of gaseous products of radioactive families of uranium-radium and thorium - radon-222, radon-220, radon-219 and their decay products, which are mainly in the aerosol form.
There is much more radon in deep groundwater than in surface drains and water bodies. For example, in groundwater, its concentration can vary from 4-5 Bq / l to
3-4 MBq / l, that is, a million times.
If water for domestic needs is pumped out of deep water layers saturated with radon, then a high concentration of radon in the air is achieved even when taking a shower.
So, when examining a number of houses in Finland, it was found that in just 22 minutes of using a shower, the concentration of radon reaches a value that is 55 times higher than the maximum permissible concentration.
Radon concentration can vary with the season. Thus, the emission of radon in Pavlovsk (near St. Petersburg) averages 9.6, 24.4, 28.5, and 19.2 Bq / m3 · h in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively.
If materials such as granite, pumice, alumina, phosphogypsum, red brick, calcium-silicate slag are used in construction production, the material of the walls becomes a source of radon radiation.
Doses due to inhalation of radon and its decay products during a person's stay in the room are determined by the features of the construction of buildings, building materials used, ventilation systems, etc. In some countries, housing prices are formed taking into account the magnitude of the concentration of radon in the premises.
Many millions of Europeans live in places that traditionally have a high radon background, for example, in Austria, Finland, France, Spain, Sweden, and receive 10-20 times the natural dose of radiation compared to the inhabitants of Oceania, where radon emissions are negligible.
The attitude of people to a particular hazard is determined by the degree of awareness of it. There are dangers that people are simply unaware of.
What to do if you have learned the "terrible" secret that you live in an area where there is a lot of radon. By the way, no household dosimeter will measure the radon concentration for you. There are special devices for this. Run drinking water through a charcoal filter. Ventilate the premises.

Have you ever wondered why the dials and hands of some devices, in particular, watches, are constantly glowing? They glow thanks to radioluminescent paints that contain radioactive isotopes. Until the 1980s, they mainly used radium or thorium. The dose rate near such a clock is about 300 μR / hour. With such a watch, you seem to be flying in a modern airplane, because there, too, the radiation load is approximately the same.
During the first period of operation of the first American nuclear submarines, during normal operation of reactor facilities, dosimetrists noted a slight excess of the irradiation rate for the crew of the boats. Concerned specialists analyzed the radiation situation on the ship and came to an unexpected conclusion: the reason was the radio-luminescent dials of the instruments, which were equipped in abundance with many ship systems. After reducing the number of instruments and replacing radio phosphors, the radiation situation on the boats improved markedly.
Currently, tritium is used in radioluminescent light sources for household appliances. Its beta radiation of low energy is almost completely absorbed by the protective glass.

Pollutes heavily natural waters activities of mining and processing plants.
Every year 4 tons of uranium and 35 tons of thorium are carried out from the tailing dumps at the Kursk magnetic anomaly into the water system of the region. This volume of radioelements relatively freely reaches the aquifers due to the fact that the tailing dumps are located within the influence of zones of increased permeability of the earth's crust.
Analyzes of drinking water in the city of Gubkin showed that the content of uranium in it is 40 times, and that of thorium is 3 times higher than in the water of St. Petersburg.

It is unusual to perceive fossil-fueled coal-fired power plants as sources of radiation exposure. Radionuclides from coal burned in the boiler furnace enter the external environment or through a pipe together with flue gases or ash and slag through the ash removal system.
The annual dose in the area around the coal-fired power plant is 0.5-5 mrem.
Several countries operate underground reservoirs of steam and hot water to generate electricity and heat homes. for every gigawatt-year of electricity they generate, there is a collective effective dose three times that of coal-fired power plants.
Paradoxical as it may seem, but the value of the collective effective equivalent radiation dose from nuclear power plants during normal operation is 5-10 times lower than from coal-fired power plants.
These figures refer to the trouble-free operation of reactors of modern nuclear power plants.

Among all sources of ionizing radiation that affect humans, medical ones occupy a leading position.
Among them, both in terms of use and in terms of radiation exposure to the population, there was and remains X-ray diagnostics, which accounts for about 90% of the total medical dose.
As a result of medical exposure, the population receives approximately the same dose every year, which is calculated for the entire radiation load of Chernobyl in the integral over 50 years since the onset of this largest world man-made disaster.

It is generally accepted that it is roentgenology that has the greatest reserves for a justified reduction in individual, collective and population doses. The UN has calculated that reducing the doses of medical exposure by only 10%, which is quite realistic, in its effect is tantamount to the complete elimination of all other artificial sources of radiation exposure to the population, including nuclear power. The dose of medical exposure to the population of Russia can be reduced by about 2 times, that is, to the level of 0.5 mSv / year, which is found in most industrialized countries.
Neither the consequences of nuclear weapons tests, nor the development of atomic energy had a significant effect on the dose load, and the contribution of these sources to radiation is constantly decreasing. The contribution from the natural background is constant. The dose from fluorography and X-ray diagnostics of a person is also constant. The contribution of radon to the dose load is, on average, one third less than fluorography.

Life on Earth originated and continues to develop under conditions of constant exposure. It is not known whether our ecosystems can exist without constant (and, as it seems to some, harmful) radiation effects on them. It is not even known whether we can reduce the dose received by the population from various sources of radiation with impunity.
There are territories on Earth where many generations of people live in conditions of natural radiation background, which exceeds the global average by 100% and even 1000%. For example, in China there is an area where the level of natural gamma background provides residents for a 70-year life span of 385 mSv, which exceeds the level requiring resettlement of residents adopted after the Chernobyl accident. However, mortality from leukemia and cancer in these areas is lower than in areas with a low background, and part of the population of this area is long-lived. These facts confirm that even a significant excess of the average level of radiation for many years may not have a negative effect on the human body; moreover, in areas with a high background radiation level of health of the population is significantly higher. Even in uranium mines, only when a dose of more than 3 mSv per month is received, the incidence of lung cancer significantly increases.
The physiological law of Ardn-Schultz is applicable to radiation: weak stimulation has an activating effect, medium stimulation has a normalizing effect, strong stimulation inhibits, over-strong stimulates suppressive and damaging ones. We all know from what ailments aspirin helps. But I do not envy someone who swallows the whole pack at once. So it is with iodine preparations, the thoughtless use of which can lead to unpleasant consequences. So it is with radiation, which can both heal and cripple. There are constant works showing that small doses of radiation are not only not harmful, but rather, on the contrary, increase the protective and adaptive forces of the body.

Few people pay attention to natural radiation. The population, as a rule, willingly goes to X-ray procedures, while often receiving an exposure dose in seconds that is tens of times higher than the total annual exposure. But people are easily "led" to "horror stories" with which they are fed by incompetent, unscrupulous, and sometimes simply inadequate "experts" and journalists.

As Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Leonid Ilyin noted:
“The tragedy is that the people do not know about medical issues ... In this sense, the events in Japan can be sad. Especially after insinuations about 120 thousand cases of cancer appear, and panic arises in people. It was the same with Chernobyl. What they did not frighten. According to the conclusions of serious scientists, the main consequences of Chernobyl are, first of all, socio-psychological consequences, then socio-economic ones, and already in third place - radiological ones ”.

Radioactive Curative Devices and Space.

Mount Akhun is the most high mountain in Sochi, located in close proximity to the sea (But not the highest mountain in the city of Sochi). At the very top of the mountain there is an observation tower built by order of Stalin. Akhun is 5 kilometers long and 663 meters high. The mountain is located between two gorges - Agursky and the gorge of the Khosta river. Northern part Akhuna is washed by a small river with the funny name Agurchik (a tributary of the Agura). On the slope of Akhun there is a yew-boxwood grove, which is part of the Sochi nature reserve.

Mount Akhun has two peaks: big, main and Small Akhun, which is 501 meters high. There are more than 30 caves on the territory of the mountain. The largest is 384 meters long, called the Big Akhunskaya Cave.

The origin of the name of the mountain

Nobody knows why Mount Akhun is so called. The name came from the indigenous people who called the mountain so before the arrival of the Russians. However, there are two main versions. According to one of them, the mountain is named after the Ubykh god of cattle breeding Akhyn, who lived on this mountain and, according to a later tourist legend, made sure that Prometheus was serving his sentence.

According to the second version, the name of Mount Akhun is the Abkhaz word "ahu" and means "hill", "elevation".

There is a third, least likely version. In Arabic, "akhun" means "cleric" or "senior mullah". This version is associated with the fact that later the Ubykhs adopted Islam and the sacrificial stone, which is still on the top of the mountain.

The fourth version connects the word "Okhun" with the ancient Abkhazian word "high dwelling".

Akhun tower

Under Stalin, Sochi was declared an all-Union construction site and the rapid development of the resort began. Joseph Vissarionovich often visited Sochi and once visited the mountain. He was so impressed by the views from the mountain that he ordered the construction of an observation tower (which, however, he never visited). In 1935, an 11-kilometer road was laid to the top of the mountain, and in 1936 an observation tower was built at the very top.

The tower was built from white limestone, which was mined during the construction of the road to the top of the mountain. The Akhun Tower is designed so that tree crowns do not interfere with the view. Its creator was the architect S.I. Vorobiev.

The entrance to the tower is paid, 100 rubles per person. Free admission for children

The tower itself is made of rough-cut limestone in the Romanesque style. Outwardly, it looks like a small fortress from the time of the Crusades. The outer part of the Akhun tower is entwined with magnificent wisteria. It looks great, especially when it is in bloom. The staircase to the top of the tower runs inside, and beautiful views can be enjoyed through the loopholes on each floor. An observation deck is located at the very top.

Observation deck on Mount Akhun

Observation deck on Mount Akhun in winter

Towards the end, there are no loopholes in the towers, and a person going upstairs does not see beautiful views. When he goes to the observation deck, his eyes are greeted with a gorgeous view of the center of Sochi, Adler, towards the mountains and towards the sea.

The height of the Akhun tower is 30 meters and when you go up to the observation deck you find yourself at an altitude of almost 700 meters above sea level. On clear days, visibility is up to 70 kilometers.

On observation deck There is always a large number of tourists, so getting to places where you can take a photo is usually not straightforward. The most successful photographs here can be taken with a panoramic lens (general view) and a telephoto lens.

There are also viewing binoculars on the observation deck, which, in exchange for your money, will allow you to explore the surroundings. 3 minutes of exploring the surroundings will cost 50 rubles.

At the foot of the tower

Akhun Tower is not the only thing to visit here. At its foot is quite a beautiful square and it seems that you are not in Russia, but in the mountains of Switzerland. Everything is done very soundly and comfortably. On the square itself there are huge carved wooden figures in the form of animals. Some of them are also benches.

On the ground floors of the tower itself there is a tasting room and an exhibition of the inhabitants of the local fauna. There are several souvenir shops, a cafe and a restaurant on the square near the tower. The shops sell various alcoholic settings in figurines in the form of Stalin, Caucasian horsemen, etc. All cereal establishments offer Sochi tea grown nearby (which, by the way, is very good). Here on the square in the corner of a modest one there is a former sacrificial stone.

Also recently, a Ferris wheel was erected on the top of the mountain. The price bites a little - 500 rubles per person per lap, but the view from the wheel is magnificent. It's hard to imagine where you can find a better positioned wheel.

So that the tourist who loves adventure does not get bored, there are horses and a donkey on which you can ride

The restaurant at the top is not bad, cozy, live music is often played. It seems that Konstantin Nikolsky in the song "Musician" described just such a place. But nevertheless, when locals about a restaurant, then we are talking about something else, with which several gloomy urban legends are associated.

Abandoned restaurant Akhun

In 1937, a truly luxurious restaurant was built on the top of the mountain. It was erected by the architect in 1937 and was a mixture of Byzantine architecture and Stalinist Empire style. The restaurant was so luxurious that Gatsby himself would have liked to host one of his parties here. However, the Akhun restaurant worked for only one year, and then a fire broke out. The restaurant was abandoned for several years and began to fall apart. Since then, it has lived out its centuries, gradually falling apart and attracting only lovers of industrial tourism. In 2000, not far from the restaurant, a car from a wedding cortege in which the bride was traveling fell into the abyss.

Popular rumor considered that a woman who died on her wedding day would not be able to leave this world so easily, so the abandoned restaurant Akhun was credited with the appearance of the bride's ghost there (In other versions of this legend, the bride's ghost appears on the road, among the fog). After that, the restaurant was overgrown with many rumors about the murders committed there, that it had become a haven for drug addicts. Visitors to the restaurant claim that they heard muffled music playing somewhere below, female laughter and the devil knows what else. All this spurs fans of extreme sports and the abandoned restaurant Akhun is a place almost more popular than the one that is currently operating.

By the way, in 2010, the Akhun restaurant was put up for sale for 135 million rubles.

• V Soviet time The cable car was planned 2 times, in 1936 and 1972. According to the 1972 project, it was supposed to be an intermediate stop at. Unfortunately, the project was never implemented.
• The ruins of a medieval Christian temple remain on Mount Akhun.
• By order of Stalin, the road was built in the shortest possible time, but it turned out to be of poor quality. Later it was redone.
• Akhun tower was built in 10 months
• There is a project to build a huge temple on the top of the mountain. However, no one is in a hurry to implement this plan.
• Akhun Tower - architectural monument federal significance.

Excursions to Akhun

Excursions to Mount Akhun are very popular among tourists. Usually, such excursions often include wine tastings, food tastings and, sometimes, a visit to the Agursky gorge. Of course, the excursions include guide services and transfers. The excursion itself is one of the cheapest and easiest routes in Sochi.

Please note: the guide's story is, of course, interesting, but you shouldn't believe everything they say. First, they like to invent legends to captivate the tourist. Secondly, they often exaggerate: for example, when visiting the Akhun tower, they tell tourists that the Turkish coast can be seen in clear weather. This, of course, cannot be true. However, in good weather you can see Dagomys, the Olympic Park and even the Abkhazian city of Pitsunda.

How to get there on your own

If you want to save money or do not want to go as part of an excursion, then getting to the Akhun tower on your own is very easy with your own car and not at all easy without it.

If you have a car, then you need to get to DOL "Sputnik" and the road to the mountain begins from it. You need to skip the only left turn (it leads to Agursky waterfalls) and just go 11 kilometers straight ahead. The road is not the most pleasant - a typical serpentine road with endless turns. At the very end there is a parking lot, which - lo and behold for Sochi - is so large that there is always space.

Location on the map

If you get there on your own without a car, then you need to get to the Maly Akhun stop (Buses 125, 105, 125s, 110, 112, 2, minibuses 100, 105k, 125, 102). From there up either by taxi (about 350-400 rubles one way), or uphill in a few hours. And then the same descent. There is also a more difficult route - to go through the Agur Gorge to the end and from there along the unequipped hiking trail climb the mountain.

If you compare the excursion and the option with a taxi and there are no more than two of you, then from the point of view of economy, it is definitely better with an excursion. If you are 3-4 people, then the taxi option will be cheaper by a couple of hundred per person, but less convenient, without tastings and a guide (and no time frame).

- (tat.). Senior mullah, the cleric of the Muslims. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov AN, 1910. AHUN is the eldest of the Muslims. mull. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F., 1907 ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Muslim theologian, scholar, more revered mullah; a kind of muslim. Dean, who knows several parishes (Dahl) See ... Synonym dictionary

Mountain in the Caucasus, near Sochi. 663 m. 30 meter observation tower ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Instructor on the path of truth. Teacher, mentor; close person. Anthropolexeme. Tatar, Turkic, Muslim male names. Glossary of terms ... Dictionary of personal names

AHUN, a mountain in the Caucasus, near Sochi. 663 m. 30 meter observation tower. Source: Encyclopedia Fatherland ... Russian history

This term has other meanings, see Akhun (disambiguation). Akhund (Pers. آخوند), traditionally also Akhun in Iran and pre-revolutionary Russia, a Muslim "bishop", an analogue of the Arabic qadi. Until 1788, the Akhund were the heads of ... ... Wikipedia

Akhun - Mountain peak v Krasnodar Territory, located northeast of Sochi, height - 600m. A 30-meter tower was built on the top of the mountain. The etymology of the name oronim goes back to the ancient Adyghe deity - Akhyn, the patron saint of herds. Every year in autumn ... Toponymic Dictionary of the Caucasus

Akhun- Mount Akhun. Akhun Bolshoi, a mountain in the Caucasus, near the city of Sochi. Height 663 m. At the top (where the highway leads) there is a 30-meter observation tower, from which you can see the Glavny, or Vodorazdelny, ridge of the Greater Caucasus and the Black Sea coast ... Dictionary "Geography of Russia"

Mountain in the Caucasus, near Sochi. 663 m. 30 meter observation tower. * * * AHUN AHUN, a mountain in the Caucasus, near Sochi. 663 m. 30 meter observation tower ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Akhun- Sp Achùnas Ap Akhun / Akhun L k. RF Krasnodaro kr. (Kaukaze) ... Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

Books

• Folding map "Sochi + Black Sea Coast" (size S), The map of Sochi (M 1:28 000) shows the corner addresses of the quarters, highlights the main and transit passages around the city, gives objects of social and cultural significance, places of rest (boarding houses, ... Category: Russia Series:

Akhun - mountain peak in the Krasnodar Territory, located northeast of Sochi, height - 600m. A 30-meter tower was built on the top of the mountain. The etymology of the name of oronim goes back to the ancient Adyghe deity - Akhyn, the patron saint of herds. Every year in the fall, Akhynu sacrificed a cow and black goats. The cow, which Akhyn had chosen, roared to let her owners know that she had deserved to become a victim. After that, she was washed with milk, and the cow herself went to the place of sacrifice - to the Shakhe River. Therefore, such a cow was called in Adyghe Akhine ichem l'eryk1u - “the self-extinguishing cow Akhina”. The sacrifice was performed under age-old trees. These places were sacred. Under their canopy, the persecuted found protection. It is necessary to compare the Arabic akhun - "priest" to the name Akhyn (Akhun, Akhin). In Kabardian folklore Akhyn is the Old Kabardian name of the Black Sea - from the word xy - "sea". According to GF Turchaninov, Akhyn originated from the Greek Pontos Aheinos - "inhospitable sea", i.e. "Black Sea"

ADYGE GAHUN (ADIGE GAHUN). -- below the rocks on the outskirts of the village of Verkhnyaya Tuba.

AHUN (OHUN, AHYN, AHIN) (663) - the top, located in the interfluve of the Agura and Khosta rivers. The mountain is known for its observation tower, built in 1936 with a height of 30.5 m, which increases the all-round view to 693.5 m. Akhun in the pagan mythology of the Circassians is the god of cattle breeding, the patron saint of cattle. There is an assumption that the name means from the Adyghe. Others associate the name with the Abkhazian - and the ancient Ubykho-Abkhazian ethnonym. According to another version, Akhun (Okhun) means from the ancient Ab-Khaz language. In Arabic, akhun means, among Muslims akhun means.

AHUN SMALL (504) - the summit is located 1.6 km southeast of the city of Akhun. The etymology of the name of the peak is the same as the previous one, with the exception of the prefix due to the lower absolute height.

AHYN (AHIN, AHUN) - the mountain to the north-east of Sochi Akhyn rises 600 m above sea level. At the top of the mountain there is a tower 30.5 meters high. Climbing to the upper platform, you can see the snowy peaks of the Achishkho and Aibga mountains. The endless distance of the sea opens from the tower. The toponym Akhyn underlies several geographical names Black Sea coast... Until now, pop Shapsugs talk about the path of the Akhinova cow (Akhine ichem l'eryk1u), which runs from the Black Sea along the river. Shahe to the Main Caucasian ridge... There are many Achin groves scattered throughout the river. Shahe. The Circassians considered Akhyn the deity of cattle breeding, the patron saint of herds. The legend says that the god Akhyn himself planned a cow for himself and always white, heiferous, and such a cow at a certain time announced to the inhabitants of the aul with her special moo that it was time for her to sacrifice to Akhyn. Then the aul people gathered in the stable with prayers, washed the cow with milk and let it out over the fence. No one dared to stop and touch the walking cow. She always walked alone with extraordinary ease and speed, and all the inhabitants of the aul followed her. The sacred cow walked straight ahead, not bypassing precipices or fast rivers. She quickly jumped over precipices and rivers and people could hardly keep up with her. So, without resting, the cow walked to the upper reaches of the river. Shahe T. e. To the place where the sacred grove Thyach1egg mez began. There she calmly lay down on the green grass under the shade of the sacred trees and patiently awaited her end. The sacrifice ceremony was usually performed in the upper reaches of the river. Shakhe in Akhinovaya grove - Akhine there. There is another legend about Akhyn. Here is the text of the legend according to L.I. Lavrov's recording. ... In Kabardian folklore Akhyn is the Old Kabardian name of the Black Sea - from the word xy. This folk etymology is supported by G.F. Turchaninov. Akhyn, according to Turchaninov, originated from the Greek Pontas Akhinee, that is, the Black Sea. Lavrov L.I.Pre-Islamic beliefs of the Adyghe and Kabardians. TIE, n. e., v. 51, p. 211. B. An. he considers the word to be the name of the god of the Heishho clan. 2 An. B. About the remnants of the tribal religion of the Shapsugs. Sat. , M., 1940, p. 15.